"Open space yes or no" is the wrong question. Open space is a tool, like a meeting table or a closed room: it works when it is part of a mix calibrated on the real use of spaces. On its own – as the only setting – it almost always produces the same result: people looking for alternatives where there are none.
The problem isn't openness: it's the lack of alternatives
In organisations where open space doesn't work, the mechanism is always similar: people have a single setting available, and in that one setting they have to concentrate, take calls, discuss, withdraw, collaborate. The result is that none of these activities happens under the right conditions. Noise is the most visible symptom, but the real problem is the lack of places – phone booths, quiet rooms, rooms of various sizes, support areas – that balance the open area and make possible what open space alone cannot host.
The right question: which mix
Every team has a prevailing activity – and every activity needs a specific physical context. Those who work in a collaborative, dynamic way need openness. Those who concentrate for long stretches, handle confidential documents or take frequent calls need closed or semi-closed spaces that are easily accessible. The proportion between open, closed and support areas comes from the real composition of activities, not from an aesthetic preference or an industry trend.
The data that determines the mix: the survey
To know which mix is needed, you have to know how the organisation works. Through interviews and surveys we reconstruct the typical day of each team: which activities take up the most time, what degree of concentration they require, how much space for privacy is needed, how often calls happen. From there we size the areas – open, closed, transitional, support – in proportion to real use. The BOMA standard provides the base for measuring surfaces; the survey data establish the functional distribution. The open space that emerges from this process is a measured tool, calibrated on the reality of that specific organisation – far from the "single surface" model that has fuelled years of well-founded scepticism.